8 months!

Dear Ava Sophia,

You turned 8 months today! (May 29, 2012) It’s getting harder to take your monthly pictures as you want to wiggle, move, and squirm all over the place. You get distracted so easily these days by anything and everything that isn't a toy, and of course it all goes straight into your mouth - especially grass (see picture below). Since bribing you with money or new shoes is lost on you, we have to just snap away and let your silliness shine through (see picture below).

This month, you took a plane ride with Mom to Colorado for Uncle Jayson's high school graduation. You saw Granny, Papa, Auntie, Karley, Kameron, Aunt Kaitlyn, Uncle Jayson, Nam, Nampa, Grandma and Grandpa Schooff, Grandma and Grandpa Webster, Aunt Maddie, Uncle Blake and the Dulgarian family. Your Daddy was worried that you would learn to crawl while we were gone, but I assured him that with so much family around, you wouldn't be on the floor long enough to even think about crawling. You definitely charmed the family with your constant smiles and cute laughs. You are one VERY loved little girl. You were excellent on the plane and captivated all the people sitting around us. Everyone kept saying how good natured and beautiful you are and that they couldn't believe how well behaved you are. Makes a momma proud. :)

This month we also moved to a new apartment. We didn't move very far, but because we are now on the first floor, you are free to kick your feet and jump in your jumper without fear of anyone banging on their ceiling to tell you to stop. :)

You are still not crawling, but somehow magically you get from point A to point B. You can slowly walk around the apartment pushing your little sit-to-stand walker and you can walk along furniture. Just recently, you started pulling yourself up to standing...but you are still perfecting that skill. :)

This month you learned that if Mom or Dad take away your toy (or the remote control or our cell phones, heaven forbid), you can and most definitely will get it back one way or another. Usually this means screaming bloody murder for a few seconds until we quickly find something else to distract you. This is a skill I am not looking forward to you perfecting. In fact, I would appreciate if you would forget that you learned it in the first place. :)

Here's what else you have been up to this month:

• You have learned how to forcefully spit out your food if you don't like it. It's cute and funny, but also very, very messy. 
• You can wave "bye bye," clap, and give kisses.
• You love to jump. Every chance you get, you jump, jump, jump. You also dance whenever music comes on.
• This month, you mastered the skills of using a walker and holding your own bottle. 
• When we put you in your crib you roll directly onto your tummy and sleep like that all night.
• You love baths and swimming.
• You have perfected the art of finger foods: bread, tortillas, corn, puffs, popcorn, goldfish, cheerios, noodles, ice cubes, crackers, bananas, black beans. 
• Your favorite food is most definitely bananas and you also really enjoy black beans.

You are definitely on a schedule. You wake up at 9am, nap at 11am for 1.5 hours, nap again at 3pm for 2 hours and then go to bed for the night at 9pm. You have been sleeping 12 hours straight for about a month now (knocking on wood, knocking on wood). You drink a 6-7oz bottle at 9am, 1pm, 5pm and 9pm. I feed you baby food twice a day and lots and lots of snacks here and there throughout the day. :)

You are wearing size 9-12 month or 12 month clothes, and size 3 diapers. This literally sends your mom into a state of panic, realizing how fast you are growing. On the other hand, I am excited because all the cutest baby clothes start at size 12 months. :)

Ava, you are an incredibly social baby: you LOVE people! You especially love other babies, children and women. You immediately smile and start up a full-blown conversation in "Ava-ese" as soon as someone looks your way. Unless, of course, that someone is a man. If it's a man...you give him the stare down as if to say, "You are definitely not my dad." Apparently you have already learned the art of playing "hard to get" when it comes to boys. Hmmm, I wonder where she gets that? ;)

Well, my sweet baby daughter, your Mommy and Daddy love you OH so much! Keep being the sweet, wonderful, smiley baby you are.

Love,
Momma :)

Videos {May #2}

Tonight I learned that Ava loves popcorn! I would bite off the little pieces with the kernels and she would eat the little "balls." She was like a little bottomless pit!

We took Ava to the pool at our complex and, as usual, she LOVED it! She was splashing and laughing. She definitely loves water.

Ava has been an extra "spaz" in her jumper thing lately. 

Ava riding on her Daddy's shoulders. I love that she holds onto his hair haha.

This just makes me laugh. She's a good sport. :)

Videos {May #1}

I know I've showed this before, but here is a video of Ava giving kisses. She opens her mouth and goes right in for your mouth. She is getting better at this every day because she gets a lot practice (considering we ask her for kisses every 5 minutes or so). :)

Here's a video of Ava in the bath. She LOVES the water, wether that be bath water or swimming pools water. This was the first time she was on her tummy in the bath. Cute!

This video shows Ava's new "trick" of blowing raspberries. She just discovered that she can do this and she has done it nonstop for the last 2 days. 

Ava is trying SO hard to crawl and move around. She wants to SO bad, but her little baby body just isn't there quite yet. She is getting better at baby push-ups though. 

I sat Ava down this morning and when I looked up, she had pulled herself over to her bouncer and was pulling herself up. Getting stronger!

This made me laugh so hard! First of all, she was little Miss Cranky Pants because it was almost nap time, but I couldn't help but take a video. She was "standing up" by herself for a few seconds at a time. This might not seem like a big deal, but she never was able to do this before, so it's a new development. 

Here she is again doing the same thing:

And this one needs no explanation. Just sweet as can be. Love my baby girl!

7 months

Dear sweet Ava Sophia,


You turned 7 months on April 29th. What an eventful month it has been! 

This month you were sick or teething 90% of the time. Poor baby girl. You handled it as well as could be expected, and just wanted to be snuggled as much as possible. This, of course, includes in the middle of the night. So, your Daddy and I gave in many more times than we should have and let you sleep with us. I loved having you so close to me all night long, but as soon as you were feeling better, you were back in your own crib. Thankfully, you transitioned back to your crib nicely. 


During one of your doctor's visits, we were surprised to find that you weighed 16.5 pounds (versus the 18.5 pounds you weighed at your 6 month appointment). The doctor said that while you probably lost a little weight because you were sick, he thinks the scale they weighed you on is weighing too heavy. So...I guess we will see about that at your 9 month appointment (the next time you have a well-baby checkup). 

You have become much more mobile and are so close to crawling, I can taste it. You can get into the crawling position by leaning over when you are sitting down. You get up on your hands and knees and rock back and forth. You are slowly figuring out how to move your arms forward OR your legs forward, but you can't move them both at the same time. There are a lot of face plants, but you are getting much better! You can turn yourself around in a complete circle, as evidenced by the crazy positions I find you in when you wake up from your naps. 

We are continuing to work on pureed foods. We’ve also introduced you to some finger foods, like bananas, bread, and the almighty PUFFS. You literally go GAGA over puffs. You are slowly learning to feed yourself finger foods, but most of the time the food ends up anywhere but your mouth. I have found puffs on your shoulders, down your shirt, and once even wedged in between your toes. Keep practicing, little girl. Getting that food into your mouth is a skill you will appreciate for your whole life.

You have learned to give kisses. We pucker up and say "kiss kiss" and you lunge forward with your mouth wide open. Those slobbery, open-mouth kisses are cute for now, as long as you promise they are just for Mommy and Daddy until you are at least...25 (maybe older). :) You also wave "bye bye" but you don't know what it means yet. 


You started the month completely toothless. Now you have two tiny, white teeth in the front bottom of your mouth. Those little teeth were sharp and mean as they pushed their way through your baby gums, but now that they are out they are as cute as can be. 

You are wearing size 3 diapers and 9 month or 9-12 month clothes. I like to buy clothes a little big for you so you get more use out of them because you are growing much too fast for your momma's liking.

Here are some skills you have perfected this month:

• Putting your pacifier in your own mouth. 
• Sitting - you are 100% stable and able to sit on your own without falling. 
• You say many consonants now: Da da, ba ba, ma ma, la la. You babble all the time, and loudly too. 
• Falling asleep on your own. Thanks to sleep training I put you down fully awake for naps and at bedtime and you can soothe yourself to sleep every time. 
• Standing while holding onto something without any help. You have even learned how to pull yourself up if (and only if) you are sitting on my lap. 
• Toys hold your interest much better and for longer now. 

You are on a 4-hour feeding schedule now. You eat at 9am, 1pm, 5pm and 9pm. Sometimes you have a small "snack" between 5-7am.  I feed you a jar of baby food twice a day (usually around 10am and then again around 8pm). You always go to bed at 9pm and wake up at 9am. You take two naps, one at 11(1-1.5 hours) and one at 3pm (2-2.5 hours). It is so nice having you on a schedule. 


Ava, you continue to charm every person you come in contact with. The second someone smiles at you, you flash them the biggest baby grin anyone has ever seen and they go nuts over you. You are a very social baby and you love people. Your Daddy and I are so proud to have such a sweet, lovable baby. You are absolute joy. 

We have an fun month planned ahead! You will be taking an airplane ride to Colorado to see your Uncle Jayson graduate high school. It will be your first time away from Daddy, which will be so sad. We will miss him. But as soon as we come back, we will be moving to a new home. How exciting!

Love you so much, sweet Ava Sophia! 

Love, 

Momma

Videos {April #3}

This is Ava's new trick. She "waves." I'm trying to teach her what that actually means so she can do it on command haha. I say, "Bye bye" whenever she does it. 

Haha This video make me laugh. She LOVES Baby Mozart. LOVES. She can be so fussy, but the moment it comes on, well...see for yourself. :)

I feel like she is SO close to crawling. She still doesn't "get it." She can hold herself up, and she can even move her arms forward OR her legs forward...just not simultaneously. 

Ava loves Puffs! They are like little Cheerios, but they pretty much "melt" in your mouth. She just gums those little suckers to mush. 

 Beautiful day at the beach. 

Ava has learned how to give "kisses." This video makes me laugh because I was trying to catch her giving me a kiss, but she was so distracted and looking all around. But in the next video, she finally gives me a kiss. Big, wet, open-mouth kisses.

 

Another kissing video. Cutie. 

Our break so far

So far, our Thanksgiving break has consisted of...

...tagging along with Mommy while she visits her friends

...snuggling on the couch with Daddy

...baths in the sink

...more snuggling with Auntie Kait

...even more snuggle time with Uncle Blake

...lots and lots of kisses

 ...and cute baby smiles.

We LOVE Thanksgiving break!

Side by side

Hmmm...

Bryson says she looks just like me except that her eyes look different than mine did. 

Dear Ava,

Dear Ava,

Do you know how much I love you little one?

People used to tell me, 

"You will never understand how much your mom loved you 

until you are a mom to your own."

These people were right. 

And now I know. 

My heart grew beyond understanding the first time I saw you, 

the first time I heard your sweet cry, 

the first time your tiny hand grasped my finger, 

the first time your beautiful eyes gazed into mine,

the first time you slept on my chest all night long. 

It was then I knew...you are mine. 

Just when I think I cannot possibly love you any more;

my heart cannot contain any more love for you...

that is when I find that my heart has grown,

when I find myself even more in love than before.

I fall even more in love each time you giggle in your sleep. 

I fall more in love every time you fall asleep in my arms.

I fall deeper in love as I sing and rock you to sleep every night.

I fall in love with you more and more with each soft coo and each gummy smile.

With every diaper change, 

each bout of hiccups, 

every time you fall asleep with one eye still barely open.

I had never known this kind of love.

This deep, all encompassing love.

You are, and always will be my baby. 

My baby.

And I love you, my baby.

With all my love, 

Momma

Boots!

Remember these boots?

Well today, they matched Ava's outfit perfectly (almost too perfectly haha)! 

Freeee!

This is how Ava wakes up every morning:

I unswaddle her and she thinks, "I'm Freeeeeee!" and she stretches for 10 minutes straight! She refuses to open her eyes and grunts and squeaks. I love it!

We are family!

Granny, Ava and Me

Papa, Granny, Me and Auntie with Ava (looking a little out of it haha)

Yaay!

Just when I was feeling so lonely, my family came to town!

It was perfect timing!

My mom's family...all the way from Virginia!

Auntie, Karkar, Granny and Papa!

These are the people who watched me grow up.

These are the people who changed my diapers, dressed me up as a baby and stuffed me into a Christmas stocking.

They sent me cards on every holiday stuffed with two-dollar bills and confetti, and sent packages on every birthday full of candy and ribbons.

They've cheered me on at piano recitals, birthday parties, graduations.

They've helped me through some of the hardest times of my life.

These people loved me from the very, very beginning.

There is NOTHING better than family! 

Family...the people you can just be yourself around: laugh, joke, smile, and cry. 

I have loved spending time with them and have adored watching them fall in love with my sweet baby Ava. She has charmed them with her many smiles and baby coos. 

I have loved watching these same people who loved me as a baby love MY baby. 

"Great" Granny and "Great" Papa :)

Auntie :) 

Granny, Kar, Me and Auntie

VERY smiley baby (as always) :)

Auntie, me, Granny, Papa and Kar (holding Ava)

Ava slept SO well in Auntie's arms! 

Ava and Auntie :)

Thankfully, we still have 2 more days to spend together!! 

I am already SO sad about the idea of them leaving and going back to the other side of the country! 

Virginia is definitely TOO far away!